


Dry and Warm

by SeraphSiren



Category: Baldur's Gate
Genre: Cute, F/M, Fluff, Gore, injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:20:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27973631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeraphSiren/pseuds/SeraphSiren
Summary: One-shot, pre-relationship fluff.Tav is seriously injured trying to save a young boy from a group of harpies. Throughout the ordeal, Gale realizes a few things, but dances around his own feelings.
Relationships: Gale (Baldur's Gate)/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 20





	Dry and Warm

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this at 3am one night like 2 edibles in, then I glued it together. This has been my first fic in years, so "this is wack" is a valid piece of feedback, don't worry.

Gale walked through the cave of the druids’ grove with concealed trepidation, his head held high and shoulders back, but not relaxed. Rath looked up from the bow he was mending and nodded. Kahga only paid him a glance, of which he was thankful that’s all she gave him. 

He couldn’t say he was overly fond of those who inhabited the grove, even after Kahga saw the err of her ways. The druids’ animosity towards those in need and the willingness to parade a child around to make an example out of her was hard to get past for Gale. What little he was familiar with regarding druids, nothing about the situation tracked. At least now the grove had more enthusiastically opened its arms to the refugees and left to help Tav.

However, even before Kahga relented and went back on her promise to push the helpless people out, Tav insisted upon dropping by whenever they could. Any cache of supplies or spare weapons she picked up would always go to the tieflings who took shelter in the caves of Silvanus’ grove. 

Rath spoke up as Gale peered in to the room where they’d taken Tav. “Nettie said you could see her now.” Gale thanked him and made his way in.

Mere hours ago that day, Tav and Wyll were gleefully jogging down the road with more stuff on their backs than anyone should be carrying, all for the sake of strangers. Wyll hauled the carcass of a boar on his back and Tav, a petite but strong half-elf, had several bundles of the weapons she’d picked off the bodies of gnoll victims. Gale had a sack of potatoes slung over his shoulder that he’d fought out of Tav’s hands, insisting that he wanted to help. Shadowheart was annoyed with Tav’s insistence on such charity, but tolerated it, as trips to the grove often meant acquiring fresh supplies and a safe place to rest. 

They handed over the supplies Zelvor and made their way through the grove towards the river. Tav wanted to look for herbs and grasses that grew along the river bank after politely implying to her companions that she didn’t trust anything Auntie Ethel was selling. Gale thought it was just some of her upper-city snootiness finally showing through.

The terrain closer to the river here was rocky and steep. The deafening sound of the waterfall behind them faded into the softer gurgle and splash of the creek that fed into the Chionthar. Tav insisted there was a safe part of the shoreline at the bottom of the trail. Gale watched Tav take out her messy braid while she walked, arguing with Wyll about rapiers versus short swords. Thick as thieves, Tav and Wyll were. Gale found himself a bit jealous of how they could reminisce warmly about their shared city; counting all the things they were looking forward to when they reached home. She even invited Wyll to stay with her family if his father wouldn’t let him back home. 

The trail opened up to a small beach, clear water lapped against the sandy shore. It was a shallow cove with steep standalone cliffs on most sides, water feeding into the main river between them. A few small trees sprouted out of the rocky terrain in the cliffs above, while a large tree rooted in the water towered well above the rocks. 

Standing in the water, a tiefling child. As they approached, Gale saw the boy was dreamily looking out into the cove.

Wyll and Tav exchanged worried glances and quickened their pace down the hill. The boy didn’t seem to even notice the sound of their loud footsteps.

Tav tried to get his attention. “Hey! Your shoes’ll be no good if you stand in the water with them on like that.”

The small tiefling didn’t turn to see who had just scolded him. 

“Shhh,” he cooed. He sounded wistful, sleepy. “Listen.” Everyone fell silent. Gale looked in the same direction the child to see if he could make sense of what he was talking about.

A sweet melody played above the waves. Beckoning, softly drowning out his own chain of thoughts. Gale felt himself yearning to drift closer to the sweet sound, like nectar for his ears. 

/No/, he commanded himself. Gale caught his breath and jolted free from the melody’s spell. 

“Harpies,” Shadowheart said lowly. Gale spotted the creatures up in the cliffs. As they sang, the harpies spread their wings getting ready to pounce. 

“Get back,” Wyll ordered the boy. He was readying his crossbow towards the creatures. “It’s a trick, lad.”

To their horror, the boy began walking further into the water. “No, no,” the boy murmured. “It’s just a bit of water. I only want to listen. Just a little closer...” 

Tav slowly began to follow the boy, hoping not to startle him. Gale could feel everyone steeling their minds against the sweet melody while readying for the inevitable fight. 

“Yes.” The boy reached a hand out towards the creature. “Everything’s going to be fine once I get there...” 

Two of the harpies leaped into the air and took flight. 

“No!” Tav screamed. She leaped towards him, sending flames ahead towards the harpy diving towards the child. Undeterred by Tav’s efforts, the harpy stretched out its claws in anticipation of trapping their prey.

Tav grabbed the child, tossing him back towards the shore. The spell over the boy had clearly broken when he let out a shriek. She raised an arm to cast something else but the harpy grabbed her by the shoulder and arm with its claws. 

Tav let out an angry series of curses while the harpy began to lift her upwards. Her legs dangled while she fought with the other claw while her staff dropped into the water below. 

Gale was readying himself to cast feather fall to safeguard Tav. Shadowheart and Wyll were making quick work of the other harpies. Tav was being carried away towards a high cliff near the large tree.

“The boy!” Tav screamed. Gale looked around to spot him making his way back into the water, entranced once more by the harpy’s song. One of the creatures remained on the cliffs, luring her prey in while another circled above. 

Gale pivoted his magic to strike at the harpy. It howled painfully when it was struck by his bolt of lightning. The child shook his head in bewilderment, finding himself standing in water up to his waist.

All at once they heard a guttural scream, the sound of branches snapping, then a single crash against water. Tav was an unmoving heap in the shallow water. A smear of blood ran down the trunk. A broken branch had landed on top of her.

“Shit,” Gale said to himself. He concentrated his rage, trying not to tremble, into missiles at the remaining two harpies. The bolts of pure force left his fingertips to chase after their targets. Gale didn’t wait to watch the creatures dive into the water as dead-weight. 

His heart leaped to see Tav shivering as she finally moved, awkwardly leaning up against the tree trunk and hunched over, head hanging. 

Wyll shouted, “Don’t move, lass! We’re coming.” All at once they ran toward her.

The water lapping against her was diluted with blood. Gale knelt down in the water, Shadowheart following suit. Together they pushed her upright to asses her. Her shoulder was bleeding through the fabric from the puncture wounds, and her blue robes were soaked in deep red all the way down her torso. Tav let out a painted cry while she held onto something against her chest. Gale’s eyes went wide upon registering that it was blood-covered wood. She’d been impaled by the damned tree.

Shadowheart’s voice remained solid and cool. “Is it deep?”

“Don’t know," Tav muttered

“Don’t try to stand, just hold on to the shard and keep it steady.”

“’ight,” Tav breathed out. Shadowheart hooked her arms under the patient’s underarms so Wyll could get her feet out from under her. She hissed at the pain, holding on to the shard sticking out of her for dear life. With some gentle maneuvering, Gale and Shadowheart managed to get Tav into Wyll’s arms. Her free arm was wrapped behind his neck, face bloody, arms muddy and scraped, her skin a ghastly pale.

“I’ll run ahead and alert Nettie we need help,” Shadowheart said before breaking into a sprint. The two men nodded and began to carefully step through the water onto the road. Gale picked up Tav’s staff from the water along the way, mercifully untouched by the fall. 

Gale realized he was hearing the soft sound of sobbing and sniffling behind them. He turned around. It was the boy. He had his hands over his ears. 

Wyll looked at Gale. “I can take her from here. Get the boy somewhere warm, yeah?” Gale nodded and Wyll took off.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry,” the young tiefling pleaded through clattering teeth. His ears were still covered by his hands. Gale led him to the shore and knelt down in front of him. “Are— are they gone?” Gale nodded and the boy uncovered his ears.

“Are you alright? You at least must be freezing.” The youngling looked down at his sopping wet clothes. 

“No—yes… I mean—I don’t know.” Gale looked at his charge, shivering in water-logged shoes and crying so hard that snot was running down his chin. “Is… is she going to be okay?”

Gale made sure to not let his kind expression change to worry. “Ah, Tav’s a lot tougher than she looks.”

“All my fault,” the boy said through sniffles. 

“Absolutely not,” he interrupted. “You simply are wiser now for it.” The boy nodded, looking away from Gale. “Come on now, let’s get you to the nearest fire.” 

He decided to carry the child on his back up the hill. Gale’s clothes and boots were just as soaked, but he wanted to spare the boy the discomfort of traversing up a hill with either no shoes or wet shoes. 

Gale found his stride with his new center of gravity and began walking back to the grove, using both his and Tav’s staves for balance. 

“Do you have parents for me to deliver you to?”

“No. Th-they’re gone. Now there’s just Mol.” Gale’s heart broke for him. He boy held on to him a little tighter when he said it. The boy’s tone got a little more frantic, then. “She’ll be so mad! I didn’t even get gold from the nest.”

Gale was grateful that the child couldn’t see his furiously surprised expression upon hearing that. There were many knee-jerk responses his mind wanted to blurt out that would not have been kind enough for the likes of a child.

“Who told you to climb into a harpy nest for gold?” He did his best to sound level-headed. “This Mol?”

“Well… you should meet Mol! She’ll be grateful you helped me.”

“If she’ll be grateful you helped me, perhaps she will understand why you’ll be arriving empty-handed, yes?”

“I hope so.”

A small crowd was already waiting for them when he arrived. A man with a blanket took the boy off Gale’s back and carried him away, a small contingent of tieflings in tow fussing over him. Gale smiled and waved to the boy, who was now looking over the man’s shoulder towards the wizard. He may be orphaned, but at least for now he wasn’t alone.

Rath approached Gale to inform him that there were dry clothes ready for him in the archdruid’s quarters. He thanked Rath and went inside.

The door to where Nettie did her work was closed. Probably for the best, he figured. No use in worrying himself further over Tav by catching a glance. 

In the archdruid’s quarters there was a fire going and the clothes Rath promised folded neatly on the stone bed. He leaned the staves against a bookshelf. With much effort he took off the soaked muddy boots and placed them by the fire. He peeled off the wet robe and trousers, hanging them from an empty weapon rack someone thoughtfully left by the fire. Gale didn’t realize how cold he had gotten until he was in dry clothes, a simple trousers and tunic, by a warm fire.

He sat down on the bed. His elbows on his knees, his head held in his hands. The humming of his body warming back up felt almost too nice while he knew that Tav must be in such pain right now. It was too much to move away from the warmth, though. The adrenaline and panic winding down into worry through his veins left him exhausted. The tips of his fingers and toes tingled softly as they regained feeling. The much needed moment of rest and recovery felt like a guilty pleasure. 

How long he sat there, Gale couldn’t say. He sat up a little bit to stare into the fire. The tip of his nose began to sting from the heat. It felt nice to be alone and warm, watching the flames dance. 

* * *

Nettie looked to him when he stepped up to the bed. Tav was laying down on clean linens while her clothes were drying elsewhere. She kept her eyes closed while speaking with Nettie. Shadowheart had made quick work of cleaning out the more superficial cuts. The awful mixture of mud and blood that covered Tav when they’d carried her in was washed away. Her shoulder had deep punctures from the harpy’s claw, though the cleric had already sealed them up. The side of her face was scraped up, but only superficially. One of her legs was scraped up and bruised. It all looked bad, but nothing as bad as her chest. Nettie was meticulously working away on the cruel gash that went up Tav’s sternum and across her left collarbone. 

“I’m sorry love, but I’d be remiss to seal this up before cleaning it out,” Nettie cooed softly to her. “There’s no need to be polite about the pain.” 

Tav let out a shaky exhale. “I swear this isn’t commentary on your handiwork, Nettie.” She hissed again as Nettie pulled out a bit of bloody gravel from the wound. Her fists were clenched with white knuckles, her toes curled with each jolt of pain.

Gale got closer, daring to look at the grizzly wound. He promptly looked away. The result of the wound was just as gut churning as watching the wound be inflicted. At least the huge shard of wood was gone now. He looked to Tav’s face: gritted teeth, pale and sweaty skin, tears rolling down the side of her cheeks, her dark hair still wet and clinging to her skin. 

“Can I help?” He began. Tav hissed again when Nettie pulled out something. “Orrrr…. am I best if out of the way?”

“Hmm…” Nettie grabbed a cloth out of a tub of steaming water and herbs, and wrung it out. “Just keep the patient calm. Well, keep her still at least.”

He reached to touch Tav’s hand softly with his fingertips to let Tav know of his proximity. She quickly grabbed back, catching his fingers awkwardly in a crushing grasp. Gale made no fuss. Tav groaned as Nettie wiped down the wound. Her grip relinquished, but didn’t pull away. He arranged his hand to interlace their fingers together—a far more comfortable position.

“You ‘ere to scold me?” Tav asked through gritted teeth.

He returned a soft laugh. “Perish the thought. This is punishment enough, though undeserved.”

“The boy’s alright, yeah?” 

“He’s fine. Warming up by a fire as we speak.“ Tav allowed herself to let out a deep breath in relief. Her freckled cheeks had a bit more color to them now. The tips of her pointed ears were still a bit icy-looking, though. “You spared him from the harpies. Safe and sound.”

“All worth it, then.” 

“That scamp reminds me of when I was a nipper.” He knelt down at her bedside to get more comfortable. “Always getting into trouble.”

“I can imagine you as a handful.” She suddenly gasped in pain, eyes opening wide for a moment and shutting again; all the while squeezing his hand. “Damn and blast!” Her free hand slammed down at her side. 

Tav relaxed once more, but not without groaning through clenched teeth. Gale cradled her head with his free hand. Nettie held up a small shard of tree she’d just pulled out for Gale to see. He grimaced at the bloody piece of wood and Nettie tossed it in a dish.

Gale continued, pretending as though he hadn’t just seen that. “Childhood hi-jinx comes with the territory.” A soft pained smile on Tav’s lips told Gale that his distractions might be working. He began to rub his thumb up and down the side of her hand he was holding. To warm her up, he told himself. “One time my parents denied me a kitten. So I summoned myself a tressym. Dear old Tara. Beautiful creature.”

Tav gently hummed through the pain, eyes still shut tight. The edges of her mind were gently pushing up against his own. Perhaps, he thought, in the midst of her pain Tav couldn’t keep her mind sealed off. 

A sensation of appreciation and calm briefly kissed Gale’s mind. It was a relief to find she wasn’t scared. But he didn’t want to pry in her moment of vulnerability and retreated, even if what he saw felt so lovely.

“And I thought I was a pain in the ass,” Tav teased. “You’re somethin’ else.” 

“Depends on who you ask, I suppose. I may have summoned things more exotic than a winged cat. There was that magma mephit once. Nice fellow - we kept in touch.”

Tav’s face contorted a bit, her mouth a pained sneer. “Braggart.”

“Benefit of a wizard’s education. Of course my considerable talent didn’t hurt either.” 

She opened one puffy, bloodshot eye. “I’m sure everyone appreciated your talent,” Tav deadpanned.

“Of course, in walked the housekeeper. Screaming, yelling, panic. And before you know it, fire everywhere!” 

“You hellion,” she scolded in jest. “I wasn’t permitted to get so creative in my studies.”

“Well that’s awfully boring. I didn’t take you for a model apprentice.”

“All the trouble I got up to as a youngster was pulled off flawlessly.” 

Before Gale could ask her to elaborate, Nettie began to recite her healing spell. The cleaned flesh began to weave itself back together, leaving behind a thick, angry red scar. It had been a long, deep wound. Gale was thankful for Nettie’s thoroughness. 

“Take a moment before you leave. Have some water and wash up, too,” Nettie said as she picked up the bucket of bloody water and her tools. 

“I am in your debt, Nettie,” Tav said as she began to sit up. Gale put a hand on her back to get her upright.

“No, no,” she called from across the room. “Think nothing of it.”

Tav took a wet cloth out of a clean water pail. She gently rubbed her new scar with the cool washcloth. “Ah, it’s so damned itchy already.”

“It’ll be like that for a few days as you continue to heal,” Nettie commented. The dwarf walked up to hand over a similar set of tunic and trousers to Tav, along with her mended robe and freshly laundered trousers. “At least wear something so you’re not tempted to scratch at it.“

Tav laughed, holding her robe up to cover her bare chest, feigning any shame. For a woman raised in the upper city of Baldur’s Gate, she so easily shed the propriety and expectations of her station. When she mentioned being raised in the city, Gale would not have guessed that it was next door to one of the city’s dukes, under the watchful eyes of a governess and nannies.

He helped her stand up, then kept his arm out for her to catch as she dressed. She had only a few issues, as her shoulder was rather stiff with pain. He helped get her arms through the sleeves of the tunic, trying his best to keep his gaze chaste. For extra warmth he helped her put the robe on, too.

“Come on now,” she said when she’d finished securing her robe. “I don’t want to keep Shadowheart and Wyll waiting much longer.” Gale nodded. They went to pick up Gale’s things and their staves and made their way outside.

The sun was no longer high in the sky, just an hour before sundown was left. Tav excitedly stepped outside, taking in a grateful lungful of summer air. Tussling her messy hair with her fingers while she walked, Tav approached the shrine. No longer were the druids chanting the rite of thorns that drowned out the soft sound of the falling water.

Gale walked alongside her. He felt the idol of Silvanus, standing in the center of the shrine; its magic singing to him, the orb inside him pulsing painfully.

He tried to put his discomfort aside. It was a scene too beautiful to be bogged down by his own secrets, Gale decided. Besides, it was a scene made possible by her.

He had known Tav about five days thus far. 

He’d seen her act selfish, even brutal towards those she deemed wicked or too inconvenient — dishing out retaliation with the same callousness that her enemies had committed their crimes with. So when she had negotiated an antidote out of Nettie after the dwarf poisoned her in a mercy-killing, he was confused, if not irate at the matter. Ever since Nettie relented and spared Tav’s life, she would greet the dwarf warmly like nothing happened. 

He’d confronted her later on that same day, seething and still coming down from the panic he’d been thrown into. 

“I can’t believe she’d poisoned you! Trying to put you down like a dog without as much as a whisper of consent.” They were standing near the entrance to the cavern where Zelvor had taken up residence. Gale was sure his face was beet-red with rage, his knuckles clenched white. 

Tav had her hands on her hips, unmoved by Gale’s concerns. “She thought she was doing the right thing!”

“Right?” He hissed, struggling to keep his volume somewhere reasonable before anyone intruded upon the conversation. “She had no right!”

“Gale…”

“Snuffing out life with as much thought as snuffing out a bloody candle!”

Her voice was low, her glare inescapable. “Gale!” Tav had moved in closer to him, standing on her toes to meet him eye-to-eye; her finger pointed at him, momentarily touching his nose as her balanced waned. He shut his mouth in a huff. “Have you never known forgiveness? Have you never made a dire genuine mistake?”

He unclenched his fists. Her questions echoed in his mind as the feelings of abandonment and shame reared their heads inside. Gale knew that she didn’t know. However the question she presented still felt pointed. 

“Yes.” Gale hung his head, catching sight of the mark on Tav’s arm where Nettie performed her cruel cure. It could have been him. “Yes I have. Just, had it been me…” He shook his head. She doesn’t /know/, he reminded himself. There was no need to explain. “But you handled it. And you handled it well.”

She lowered her hand. “Then let it rest. What’s done is done.”

In the handful of days following the poisoning, Gale had a newfound sense of protectiveness over her. Of course he insisted to himself that this was because she was the de facto leader of their merry band of should-be mind flayers. They needed her. 

Tav displayed her unyielding mercy and inescapable wrath. She and Lae’zel had carried people out of a burning inn on their backs, mere hours before slaughtering servants of Tyr and looting a tollhouse for all it was worth. And “for good measure” she insisted upon killing a whole group of bandits plundering a temple, then pocketed their coin and gave away their weapons. She was looking out for their interests, making decisions that respected the dire circumstances they had been saddled with. Of course she was the leader. 

And now here they were, standing in front of the shrine to Silvanus, as those mere days felt like months ago since her near-death. So much had happened and yet only now did Tav manage to get so grievously injured.

He still felt as though he failed her. He could have prevented it. If he hadn’t second guessed himself, if he didn’t panic in that short moment about the boy, she wouldn’t have gotten hurt. But if he didn’t finish off that damn harpy before running over to help, she would have been picked off or the child scooped up by that blasted creature. 

The breeze caught her messy half-dried hair, revealing the bite marks on her neck by Astarion. He didn’t imagine /that/ playing out the way it did. She’d forgiven Astarion for the secrecy and let the vampire use some of her blood to replenish his waning strength. The next morning she defended him to the rest of their companions. The mere thought of just letting a vampire spawn bite him made him shiver. And get she didn’t even blink over it, even if she was secretly just as scared of the idea. How odd the ways in which her empathy manifested. Or perhaps she simply saw the benefit of a fed vampire spawn on their side. 

Could she extend that empathy to him? To feel for the foolish young man who’d made a gravitational error in judgement?

She’d picked up on Gale looking her way, and adjusted her mended robe to break the awkward moment.

“Sorry,” he quickly responded. “I was deep in my thoughts.” They both looked ahead. “Didn’t mean to stare.” 

“Quite alright.” She sounded tired, but at least in less pain. “I was doing the same.”

“Something on your mind?” He kept his voice low, but soft. 

“The shrine reminds me of home.” She didn’t turn to speak to him. A soft smile pleasantly pulled at the corners of her mouth. “Our courtyard looks so overgrown compared to our neighbors’. Mother doesn’t like things too manicured.” The pillars were covered in a strangle of vines, moss climbing up the stone from the water. Lily pads floated in the more serene parts of the fountain.

“I remind myself that I’ll be home soon enough. The mere thought of being back in my study feels like a warm embrace.”

“I feel the same about my library.” For a moment the feeling of homesickness filled his core at the thought of his favorite chair. 

“Baldur’s Gate is so far,” she lamented. “But Waterdeep even more so.” 

“I already had the foresight to make sure my home and cat are attended to, should I make a hasty disappearance.” 

She let out a short laugh. “Of course you did. I never had to think about that. I don’t live alone to make it an issue.” She looked down into the pool of water, her brow softly furrowed and lips pursed. “I hope my father and sister aren’t out wasting time searching for me. I don’t think they’d know to look out here.”

He turned his head to face her. It took him aback, as he realized Tav hadn’t said something so vulnerable before. She didn’t look at him. 

“Lamenting the concern of loved ones in a time like this?”

“It would break their hearts,” she cooed, leaning on her staff. “All that work just to find out about our condition? Or to get killed on their quest? I couldn’t handle seeing them hurt like that.”

Gale couldn’t muster anything before she began to walk back up the pathway to find Wyll and Shadowheart.

He followed her as the ancient magic of the totem called out for him not to leave. The orb inside cried back to the totem, a dreadful pulsing filling his chest. It didn’t hurt, but it certainly left him feeling ill. He no longer had the luxury of having bigger problems to deal with. 

As they walked he turned his head to look at her. She’d been looking at him first. He caught her eyes. The grin on her face too contagious to not return.

He had to tell her. Gale could only hope that she had any mercy left for the likes of him. 


End file.
